Customer Reviews

Let's Stay Friends

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Les Savy Fav's previous release, "Inches", was not an album but a singles collection. Due to its sequencing of newest to oldest, it was easy to forget since it all held together so well. With "Let's Stay Friends", it sometimes feels like the opposite. The opener "Pots and Pans" serves the statement of intent purpose that "Meet Me in The Dollar Bin" did but after that it seems that all bets are off. By picking up the thread from Go Forth, the last full length, LSF are throwing new elements into the mix all over the place. And to further throw us off, the lyrics are far more direct than before. The mood here is more upbeat than what I had come to expect. Yes there are bits of darkness around the edges but this seems to be more about the joy of performance and a sense of comaraderie in the band. And the music gives us that in spades. The music and vocals just fuse together effortlessly. And believe trying to explain what it sounds like to a novice is not easy. You can throw out a bunch of names but nothing really gets it all. You could write paragraphs on the sound of Seth Jambour's guitars alone. Echoing without being dub, fractured but not noise, psychedelic but not noodlingly are good descriptors but, damn! They have a style which points in a lot of directions but it's simply their own. It has the post punk need to experiement and bring new colors to the palette. It has the aggressive force of mid nineties guitar rock before it descended into the cartoonish heavier than thou poses of nu-metal. There is a quirky and humane quality behind all the bombast. On the downside, it may take a couple spins for it to find its way into your skull. And don't bother reading the lyric sheet either. I think it works better coming in through the ear than the eye. Personally I like the 2nd half of the album better. A fun record that doesn't feel stupid. I think there one of the best rock bands going today. For aging indie kids like me anyhow. Four and 1/2 stars.

Rumors were in the air about Les Savy Fav's demise, but fortunately they've returned to deliver their first full-length CD of brand new material in several years. Even better news: it's a contender for their best yet.

Let's Stay Friends finds the band expanding upon their signature sound. If there's a common thread on the album, it's how it appropriates some tropes of mid-80s and 90s indie music and updates them into the sound of Les Savy Fav. And what's that sound? A little bit of the Pixies, a dash of Fugazi, some PIL, a tad of Six Finger Satellite. Well, the list of subtle influences go on, but Les Savy Fab own them, and make them original.

To me, this sounds like a logical continuation from Go Forth, though that record came out several years ago. It bears more resemblance to that record, in my opinion, than it does to Inches, their compilation from a few years ago.

Most of the twelve tracks feature some of the band's best material yet. Harrington sounds just as unhinged as ever. And the songs veer in unexpected but melodic directions. Sometimes, it seems like LSF squeeze a few songs into one. And their tradmark codas are there---what they've always done best.

Standouts are The Year Before the Year 2000, The Lowest Bitter (one of their best songs ever), Scotchguard the Credit Card, and Kiss Kiss is Getting Old. The album only misses the mark on a few occasions (the tepid, mostly acoustic (!) number "Comes and Goes." Still, they're trying new things, and it's not entirely out of place on this record.

In short: one of the best albums of the year. I hope LSF sticks around and makes more records, even if we have to wait 5 or 6 years to hear the next.

These guys are real artists trying to push the envelope with artistry. A fair comparison would be to them to what "Public Image Limited" was doing in the 1970's (I hate Johnny Lydon, but I love the musicians and what they were doing with dub).

This music is not easy to digest but this stuff is the real deal. These guys are true artists pushing emotion and angst, a strong sense of funky rhythm, angular instrumental lines and a ton of attitude into music that can be challenging yet also is, for the most part, pretty accessible. "Patty Lee' is the highlight.

all heaters. innovative, crisp & intricate ... i'm hoping they do a 2010 tour. i've been working backwards since root for ruin and this stuff is simply fantastic. after a post "bang" summer we're living in this year, it's nice to have people who still like to stir it up on a track or two... do yourself a favor and look up some live shows on youtube if you ain't in the know already.

The title of this review comes from an interview I read last year with LSF's Tim Harrington. The passage from the interview goes:

"An area of interest for me lyrically," he (Tim) explains, "is to be able to address whatever the harshest and most negative elements are in life and society and defy that, not with a pie-eyed optimism, but with a really cold-hearted optimism. Don't expect the world to change. Change yourself. Change your perception of it."

This idea comes across in a number of songs on Let's Stay Friends, which in my opinion is their best album to date and easily the best rock album of 2007. "The Year Before the Year 2000" and "Kiss, Kiss is Getting Old" touch on what he was talking about, and "The Lowest Bitter" - the album's passionate and fiery closer - says it perfectly.

This is an incredibly fun and optimistic album, and their songwriting and playing has gotten even better with this latest release. I love how these guys are just hardcore perfectionists when it comes to the final product - always shooting for better. "The Equestrian" is an instant classic and one of their best songs ever, an infectious rocker. "Patty Lee" is the catchiest, and in my opinion captures the band in top form, in every way. The song is tight, structure-wise; the lyrics are as good as anything Tim's ever written; and the playing is awesome, especially the guitar-playing .. just brilliant.

Other highlights are "Kiss, Kiss is Getting Old", which sounds like it was AIMED at folks in their mid-thirties (like myself, I could be biased here), "Raging in the Plague Age" and "Slugs in the Shrubs". "Raging" has a great backup refrain, sung by either a boys choir or hired nuns. Or possibly friends of the band. "Slugs" has some great-sounding effects that integrate perfectly with the song .. in fact, both Slugs and Raging would have fit in very well on Cat and the Cobra.

LSF are one of the few rock bands out there that prove rock can still be exciting, intelligent and original. I truly hope they continue on, in whatever way they damn well please.

I saw them on Conan one night and even though the singer was a bit flamboyant for my taste I really liked the song they played, patty lee. So I thought I'd check them out and I really like the cd, it stays consistently good all the way through. So I suggest picking it up.

You need to buy this b.c you need to live like Tim lives and support Tim. If you don't know what I mean, just get the album then see. I am just one of many dedicated fans.

Some time passes between LSF records. The "Inches" collection brought many into the fold, an incendiary collection of deft wordplay and confectionary angularity. "Go Forth" slicked up the production and gave weight to Fugazi/Pixies comparisons via some dubbish basslines and dizzily dissonant guitars. After a lengthy hiatus that would stiffen and starch the sound of many a lesser band, LSF returns with "Let's Stay Friends," nearly as bracing as the four-on-the-floor "Inches" but with some of the melodic lessons of "Go Forth" bursting through the fresh, punky upholstery. By turns giddy, cathartic, and aggressively poppy, "Let's Stay Friends" reaffirms faith, clears drains, and tears the roof off -- all while stealing your girlfriend.

It's a nice album. Before I bought it, I read enough reviews about how polished it is in comparison. Oui, that may be the case but it still doesn't kick my butt as much as their previous stuff. Nevertheless, I hope we don't experience another friendless few years.

Fusing the raw energy of an authentic old school punk angst with catchy melodic riffs and a relaxed, lassay fair pop sound is not easy to do. On Let's Stay Friends, Les Savy Fav accomplish the improbable with tremendous success that will keep the listener wondering what will happen next (while gleefully pondering what just happened). A wide range of musical influence and style flows seamlessly throughout this entire album. Tracks like 'Patty Lee' or 'The Year Before the Year 2000' may conjure a reminiscence of Sunday mornings in 1985 spent with Kasey Kasem. Aligning these tracks with the essence of underground energy that ultimately drives the soul of Les Savy Fav, tracks that scream with guitar riffs, feedback, and blood curdling gusto, brings Let's Stay Friends to new heights. Fans of Les Savy Fav will remain impressed. New comers will delight with discovery. And even the skeptical will turn to goo upon seeing the astounding presence of Les Savy's live shows. Cliche: This album is outstanding! Cliche 2: You must buy this album! I am left with only cliches because, yes, Let's Stay Friends really is THAT good.